The Best Time The Year: Bowl Season

We have finally arrived to the glory days of college football, the bowl season. The bowl season is what is looked at as the pinnacle of the college football season. This year, 6 bowl games and one National Championship game separate us from a champion. The 4 bowls on the outside are games consist of the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Chik-Fil-A Peach Bowl and the Orange Bowl. While the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl consists of the first two playoff games. These match-ups are ones that you don’t want to miss.
​Starting off this slate of epic games is the Chik-Fil-A Bowl, a game between the #9 Ole Miss Rebels and the #6 TCU Horned Frogs. Both teams had high hopes for the playoffs throughout the season, Ole Miss losing multiple games crushed their hopes. While TCU missed because the committee did not feel like they had a strong enough finish. The key point of this game is offense; Ole Miss’s Bo Wallace and TCU’s Trevone Boykin are both outstanding QB’s. There will be a lot of points scored in this game. The Rebels and Bo Wallace find a way to beat the high powered TCU offense.
​Following that game will be Fiesta Bowl, played between the #20 Boise State Broncos and the #10 Arizona Wildcats. Boise State makes this game because they are the highest ranked non-power five conference team. The two teams both play an exciting brand of football, and know how to score a lot of points. Boise State is no stranger to the Fiesta Bowl, but Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez knows a thing or two about big bowl games. That makes this a one worth watching. Boise keeps the magic going and pulls off the unthinkable again.
​The main event on New Year’s Eve is the Orange Bowl, the #7 Mississippi State Bulldogs will take on the #12 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Bulldogs, once ranked #1 in all of the land have since fallen from grace and landed in this game. Georgia Tech nearly upstaged Jameis Winston and Florida State in the ACC title game. Big plays will be the theme of this game, but the defenses could eventually steal the show. Prescott leads the Bulldogs down field late to seal the deal.
​The Cotton Bowl Classic, sets the stage for an absolute war. The #8 Michigan State Spartans will travel to Texas to take on the #5 Baylor Bears. The Bears believe they should be in the playoffs but were left out in the cold. QB Bryce Petty cannot make any mistakes in this game; the Spartan defense will make him pay. With a guy like Jeremy Langford at RB for Sparty, Baylor’s run defense will have to be on its toes. Michigan State wins in a tight one.
​The first playoff game pitts a Heisman hopeful against a Heisman Winner. Marcus Mariota and the Oregon Ducks take on Jameis Winston and the Florida State Seminoles. Both teams score a lot of points and let up a lot of points. What it’ll come down to is turnovers. Famous Jameis has had trouble keeping the ball in his possession this season, and this is where Mariota has been flawless. Oregon should be quacking its way to victory.
​Alabama takes on Ohio State in the other playoff matchup. Alabama’s offense looked unstoppable last week against Mizzou, while Cardale Jones, the Buckeyes 3rd string, led the Buckeyes to a 59-0 rout of Wisconsin. Bama’s experience is what will lead them to victory, Armari Cooper should be nearly unstoppable.
​Oregon and Alabama is a matchup any have waited for. It’s the classic speed vs power game. This is Mariota’s call to glory, and on the grandest stage in college football he could find it. Blake Sims will have to find Cooper multiple times to win. But in the end, I like the Ducks to outrun the Crimson Tide in a thriller.